Chapter 12 - The FireSmoke filled the house.
I ran upstairs.
Avery was trapped behind a locked bedroom door.
I kicked it open.
“Dad!”
She threw herself into my arms.
“Where's Julian?”
“Thomas has him!”
“Where?”
“I don't know!”
A floorboard collapsed behind us.
Fire raced along the ceiling.
We ran.
At the end of the hallway stood Thomas.
Holding Julian.
Behind him was Alan.
Alive.
I stopped.
“You escaped.”
Alan smiled.
“I'm harder to kill than you think.”
Thomas looked at him.
“You were supposed to take the child.”
“I did.”
“You were supposed to leave.”
Alan shook his head.
“I changed my mind.”
Thomas raised his weapon.
Alan shot first.
Thomas fell.
Julian began crying.
Alan ran.
I chased him.
Down the staircase.
Through the kitchen.
Out into the yard.
The rain had stopped.
The sky was red from the fire.
Alan reached the barn.
I followed.
He turned.
“Clifford!”
“Put the gun down.”
He laughed.
“You still think this is about money.”
“Then tell me what it is about.”
He looked toward the burning house.
“Your father promised me something.”
“What?”
“A way out.”
“You used my daughter.”
“I protected her.”
“You kidnapped her!”
“Because Thomas wanted her dead.”
I froze.
Alan lowered his weapon.
“He ordered her killed three weeks before the wedding.”
“Why?”
“Because Avery discovered the trust.”
“How?”
“She found the birth records.”
I stepped closer.
“Whose birth records?”
“Julian's.”
Alan reached into his jacket.
He pulled out a small envelope.
“Take this.”
I opened it.
Inside was a DNA report.
Avery's eyes.
Julian's blood.
And another name.
Rachel.
I looked at Alan.
“What does Rachel have to do with this?”
“She was the one who took Julian from the hospital.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Three years ago, Avery gave birth.”
“To Julian?”
“No.”
I stared.
Alan continued.
“Julian was born to Eleanor.”
“Yes.”
“But Avery's baby was different.”
My mind went blank.
“What are you saying?”
“There were two babies.”
I looked at the report again.
Alan whispered:
“Eleanor gave birth to a boy.”
“And Avery gave birth to a girl.”
A chill ran through me.
“Where is Avery's daughter?”
Alan looked toward the barn.
“That's why Thomas is panicking.”
“What happened to her?”
“She was taken.”
“By whom?”
Alan smiled sadly.
“By someone you trust.”
Then the barn doors slammed shut.
Smoke poured inside.
Alan pointed behind me.
“Look.”
I turned.
Robert stood outside.
Beside him was Margaret.
And between them was a teenage girl.
She had Avery's eyes.
My daughter's eyes.
I stared.
“Who is she?”
Margaret whispered:
“Her name is Lily.”
Avery appeared behind me.
She saw the girl.
Her face went white.
“That's my daughter.”
The girl started crying.
“Mom?”
Avery fell to her knees.
I looked at Alan.
He whispered:
“Now you understand why the trust was divided.”
Thomas had planned everything around Julian.
But Julian was only half the story.
May you like
The real heir was Lily.
And somewhere in the burning ranch house, Thomas was still alive.
